Sunday, December 30, 2012

MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for the week of December 30, 2012



Catholic Charities. Providing Help. Creating Hope. 

VISION: Believing in the presence of God in our midst, we proclaim the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the person by sharing in the mission of Jesus given to the Church. To this end, Catholic Charities works with individuals, families, and communities to help them meet their needs, address their issues, eliminate oppression, and build a just and compassionate society.

MISSION: Rooted in the Mission of the Diocese of Youngstown "to minister to the people in the six counties of northeastern Ohio . . .(and) to the world community", we are called to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire Church and other people of good will to do the same.

GOALS: Catholic Charities is devoted to helping meet basic human needs, strengthening families, building communities and empowering low-income people. Working to reduce poverty in half by 2020.

KEY VALUE: Hospitality

WHAT WE DO: Organizing Love. "As a community, the Church must practise love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community" (Deus Caritas Est, par. 20) 



https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTn7neoS4-XcbRsUyLmKx4bI0eH0AAuCsRz9zNf3pdamzpNWFZIOMGsdqQQINElZHwHwTWZ-5Tnle8QUoy0w-PZojWRBNd0YulZ1F6Dj1oIH_sAssadR_B2CvqDG0aGgvXZB-GIVYgHuB/s1600/Holy%252520Family%2525201.jpg

On Sunday, (Feast of the Holy Family, http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/123012.cfm)   we read from the Gospel of Luke about Jesus’ time in the Temple as his parents searched for Him, fearing he was lost in the crowd.  Rather, Jesus calms His parents by reminding them that He was in His House.  Like all parents, Mary and Joseph worried about their child.  This Feast of the Holy Family reminds all of us about the model of community we are to share.  St Paul’s letter to the Colossians articulates that model: “Put on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.  And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.”

Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org welcomes persons and families each day providing hope and help as we are able.  Like the Holy Family who were forced to leave their homeland due to violence and fear, we provide assistance to many families who are newcomers to our land, welcoming them and assisting them with their immediate and long term needs.  We in Catholic Charities aim to provide compassionate care to all families seeking help and hope.  We do the best we can with the limited resources available.  On many occasions, we provide advocacy for such families to obtain the material and legal help they need.  Every day, we also hear from families who we helped who are so thankful for the assistance they obtained from Catholic Charities.  It is because of our many generous benefactors, volunteers and staff that such help is possible.  On behalf of all of us in Catholic Charities, thank you!  Your gifts help each of us to find and experience “God among us” as we serve in Jesus’ name.


Reflection from Church Documents and Official Statements


http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/images/year-of-faith-logo-montage.jpg






ZE12122402 - 2012-12-24
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-36239?l=english

IS THERE STILL NO ROOM IN THE INN, POPE ASKS


Encourages Imitating the Shepherds' Curiosity to See What God Has Said to Us


VATICAN CITY, December 24, 2012 (Zenit.org). by Kathleen Naab

Benedict XVI is asking if Mary, Joseph and the Infant Jesus can find room in the inn even today, or if we too are guilty of turning away God himself.
The Pope made this question during tonight's Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.
The Holy Father suggested that our attitude toward the homeless, towards refugees and migrants "takes on a deeper dimension: do we really have room for God when he seeks to enter under our roof? Do we have time and space for him? Do we not actually turn away God himself?"

The Pontiff lamented that the "faster we can move" with all of modernity's "time-saving appliances," the less time we have. "And God? The question of God never seems urgent," he said. "Our time is already completely full."

The Bishop of Rome asked if God has any place even in our thinking.

"If thinking is to be taken seriously, it must be structured in such a way that the 'God hypothesis' becomes superfluous," he said. "There is no room for him. Not even in our feelings and desires is there any room for him. We want ourselves. We want what we can seize hold of, we want happiness that is within our reach, we want our plans and purposes to succeed. We are so 'full' of ourselves that there is no room left for God. And that means there is no room for others either, for children, for the poor, for the stranger."

Sounds of heaven
In contrast, the Pope noted the song of the angels, who begin their hymn with the words "Glory to God in the highest."

"God is glorious," Benedict declared. "God is pure light, the radiance of truth and love. He is good. He is true goodness, goodness par excellence. The angels surrounding him begin by simply proclaiming the joy of seeing God’s glory. Their song radiates the joy that fills them. In their words, it is as if we were hearing the sounds of heaven. There is no question of attempting to understand the meaning of it all, but simply the overflowing happiness of seeing the pure splendour of God’s truth and love. We want to let this joy reach out and touch us: truth exists, pure goodness exists, pure light exists. God is good, and he is the supreme power above all powers. All this should simply make us joyful tonight, together with the angels and the shepherds."

The Holy Father went on to speak of the second part of the angels' message -- "peace on earth among men" -- considering the role of religion in history's wars, and in peace.
"It is true that religion can become corrupted and hence opposed to its deepest essence, when people think they have to take God’s cause into their own hands, making God into their private property," he said. "[...] [Y]et it is not true that denial of God would lead to peace. If God’s light is extinguished, man’s divine dignity is also extinguished. Then the human creature would cease to be God’s image, to which we must pay honour in every person, in the weak, in the stranger, in the poor. Then we would no longer all be brothers and sisters, children of the one Father, who belong to one another on account of that one Father. The kind of arrogant violence that then arises, the way man then despises and tramples upon man: we saw this in all its cruelty in the last century. Only if God’s light shines over man and within him, only if every single person is desired, known and loved by God is his dignity inviolable, however wretched his situation may be."

God's peace

The Holy Father invited prayer for the places where Christ lived and for the town of Bethlehem. "Let us pray that Israelis and Palestinians may be able to live their lives in the peace of the one God and in freedom," he said. "Let us also pray for the countries of the region, for Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and their neighbours: that there may be peace there, that Christians in those lands where our faith was born may be able to continue living there, that Christians and Muslims may build up their countries side by side in God’s peace."

The Pontiff concluded the homily by again encouraging the faithful to give space to God.
"The shepherds made haste," he said. "Holy curiosity and holy joy impelled them. In our case, it is probably not very often that we make haste for the things of God. God does not feature among the things that require haste. The things of God can wait, we think and we say. 

"And yet he is the most important thing, ultimately the one truly important thing. Why should we not also be moved by curiosity to see more closely and to know what God has said to us? At this hour, let us ask him to touch our hearts with the holy curiosity and the holy joy of the shepherds, and thus let us go over joyfully to Bethlehem, to the Lord who today once more comes to meet us."
--- --- ---
On ZENIT's Web page:
Full text: www.zenit.org/article-36238?l=english




Some important date(s) this week:
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/ByDate.aspx

See website for biographies of Saints and Blessed celebrated this week.

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4675991886563696&pid=1.7


TUESDAY, JANUARY 1.  The Octave Day of Christmas   Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God   http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010113.cfm

 
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World Day of Peace
For the full text of the Holy Father's message for the World Day of Peace, "Jesus Beatitude Tells Us That Peace is both a Messianic Gift and the Fruit of Human Effort"  go to:
http://www.zenit.org/article-36183?l=english





CHARITIES NEWSBYTES

KEEP THE KIDS WARM Campaign.  Please consider a small gift to help families struggling with winter related utilities. http://ccdoy.org/slider/are-you-ready-to-keep-the-kids-warm-we-are/

 
PAPAL INTENTIONS:  JANUARY 2013
The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.



Corporal Works of Mercy:  The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor

  1. Feed the hungry
  2. Give drink to the thirsty
  3. Clothe the naked
  4. Shelter the homeless
  5. Visit the sick
  6. Visit those in prison
  7. Bury the dead



Note: Please consider joining our
FACEBOOK CAUSE http://apps.facebook.com/causes/106889 
FACEBOOK GROUP https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catholic-Charities-Diocese-of-Youngstown/138817639487339
TWITTER account, CCDOY, http://twitter.com/CCDOY
for current updates and calls to action that we can all use. 

See our website at http://www.ccdoy.org for links to the our ministries and services.    
For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog at:  http://corbinchurchthinking.blogspot.com/
 

Sunday, December 23, 2012

MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for the week of December 23, 2012



Catholic Charities. Providing Help. Creating Hope. 

VISION: Believing in the presence of God in our midst, we proclaim the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the person by sharing in the mission of Jesus given to the Church. To this end, Catholic Charities works with individuals, families, and communities to help them meet their needs, address their issues, eliminate oppression, and build a just and compassionate society.

MISSION: Rooted in the Mission of the Diocese of Youngstown "to minister to the people in the six counties of northeastern Ohio . . .(and) to the world community", we are called to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire Church and other people of good will to do the same.

GOALS: Catholic Charities is devoted to helping meet basic human needs, strengthening families, building communities and empowering low-income people. Working to reduce poverty in half by 2020.

KEY VALUE: Hospitality

WHAT WE DO: Organizing Love. "As a community, the Church must practise love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community" (Deus Caritas Est, par. 20) 



http://notbreadalone.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Advent2011d1.jpg



On Sunday, (Fourth Sunday in Advent,  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122312.cfm)   we read from the Gospel of Luke about Mary’s Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth.  Both are expecting their first born.  Again, joy is the experience of this encounter.  Elizabeth declares that her son “leapt for joy” at the sound of her voice, knowing that the Christ was with her.  As Advent draws to a close, and we enter into the holy time of the celebration of the Incarnation, let us know that joy and peace that only God can give.  Further, let us share that joy and peace with everyone we encounter, knowing, like Elizabeth and St. John in her womb, that truly God Is With Us.

Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org shares that joy and peace of God with each of our clients.  We are aware that sometimes a visit to our office may be the only time a person and family are treated with such respect and not just another number waiting to be seen.  We believe that as a ministry of the Church, we provide the love and compassion required of us.  Though our cases may be tough, and persons visiting us may be stressed out due to their circumstances, we witness to that peace and joy that comes from the essence of our mission and vision.  We celebrate that God is With Us each day and with each encounter.

Reflection from Church Documents and Official Statements


http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/images/year-of-faith-logo-montage.jpg





Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-36184?l=english

POPE BENEDICT: CHRISTMAS IS A SIGN AND REMINDER OF DIVINE LIGHT


Pontiff Thanks Delegation From Italian Region of Molise for Donation of Christmas Tree

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 14, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Pope Benedict XVI received in audience a delegation from the Italian region of Molise, which this year has donated the fir tree raised next to the Nativity scene in St. Peter's Square. The lighting ceremony will take place later on today.


The Pope thanked the delegation for the silver fir - which was accompanied by eight other smaller trees destined for the Apostolic Palace and various other locations around the Vatican.

The Holy Father said that event of God becoming man was to "dispel the shadows of sin, bringing His divine light to humanity."

"This highest of lights, symbolized and recalled by the Christmas tree, has not only shown no sign of dimming through the passing of the centuries and the millennia, but rather continues to shine upon us and to illuminate every person who comes into the world, especially in moments of uncertainty and difficulty."

Recalling the words of Christ, who proclaimed, "I am the light of the world", Pope Benedict said that there have been many attempts to "extinguish the light of God."
These attempts, the Pope continued, are meant "to replace it with the glare of illusion and deceit" and "have heralded episodes of tragic violence against mankind."
"This is because the attempt to cancel the name of God from the pages of history results in distortion, in which even the most beautiful and noble words lose their true meaning."



Some important date(s) this week:
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/ByDate.aspx

See website for biographies of Saints and Blessed celebrated this week.


http://hopespace.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54fab57118833010536bad31c970b-pi

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25.  Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord
On this day the Church focuses especially on the newborn Child, God become human, who embodies for us all the hope and peace we seek. We need no other special saint today to lead us to Christ in the manger, although his mother Mary and Joseph, caring for his foster-Son, help round out the scene.
But if we were to select a patron for today, perhaps it might be appropriate for us to imagine an anonymous shepherd, summoned to the birthplace by a wondrous and even disturbing vision in the night, a summons from an angelic choir, promising peace and goodwill. A shepherd willing to seek out something that might just be too unbelievable to chase after, and yet compelling enough to leave behind the flocks in the field and search for a mystery.
On the day of the Lord’s birth, let’s let an unnamed, “un-celebrity” at the edge of the crowd model for us the way to discover Christ in our own hearts—somewhere between skepticism and wonder, between mystery and faith. And, like Mary and the shepherds, let us treasure that discovery in our hearts.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!






CHARITIES NEWSBYTES

Thinking about Christmas presents?  Consider connecting justice with a gift for your loved one.  Catholic Relief Services, FAIR TRADE Products.  http://www.crsfairtrade.org/


 
PAPAL INTENTIONS:   December 2012

General Intention: That migrants throughout the world may be welcomed with generosity and authentic love, especially by Christian communities.

Missionary Intention: Christ, light for all humanity. That Christ may reveal himself to all humanity with the light that shines forth from Bethlehem and is reflected in the face of his Church.



Corporal Works of Mercy:  The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor

  1. Feed the hungry
  2. Give drink to the thirsty
  3. Clothe the naked
  4. Shelter the homeless
  5. Visit the sick
  6. Visit those in prison
  7. Bury the dead



Note: Please consider joining our
FACEBOOK CAUSE http://apps.facebook.com/causes/106889 
FACEBOOK GROUP https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catholic-Charities-Diocese-of-Youngstown/138817639487339
TWITTER account, CCDOY, http://twitter.com/CCDOY
for current updates and calls to action that we can all use. 

See our website at http://www.ccdoy.org for links to the our ministries and services.    
For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog at:  http://corbinchurchthinking.blogspot.com/
 

Sunday, December 16, 2012

MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for the week of December 16, 2012



Catholic Charities. Providing Help. Creating Hope. 

VISION: Believing in the presence of God in our midst, we proclaim the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the person by sharing in the mission of Jesus given to the Church. To this end, Catholic Charities works with individuals, families, and communities to help them meet their needs, address their issues, eliminate oppression, and build a just and compassionate society.

MISSION: Rooted in the Mission of the Diocese of Youngstown "to minister to the people in the six counties of northeastern Ohio . . .(and) to the world community", we are called to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire Church and other people of good will to do the same.

GOALS: Catholic Charities is devoted to helping meet basic human needs, strengthening families, building communities and empowering low-income people. Working to reduce poverty in half by 2020.

KEY VALUE: Hospitality

WHAT WE DO: Organizing Love. "As a community, the Church must practise love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community" (Deus Caritas Est, par. 20) 




http://parishableitems.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/gaudete-sunday-advent-candles.jpg



On Sunday, (Third Sunday in Advent,  http://usccb.org/bible/readings/121612.cfm )   we read from the Gospel of Luke about the prescriptions given by St. John the Baptist:  Followers asked:  “what should we do?”  St John the Baptist tells them “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none.  And whoever has food should do likewise.”  Besides this call for charity, the Baptist also challenged those he baptized to “not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages....stop collecting more that what is prescribed.”  St John then again reminds his followers that another One is coming, and continues to preach the Good News.  St John the Baptist models also the attitude we are to have in Christ:  “Rejoice in the Lord always.  I shall say it again: rejoice!”  This is the attitude we are all called to share with each other:  joy.  God Is Among Us.

Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org  works to bring joy into the lives of everyone we encounter; we rejoice knowing that our donors and volunteers continue to work with us to provide help and create hope.  As the organized ministry of the Church, Catholic Charities promotes the corporal works of mercy through both charity and justice.  Like St. John the Baptist, we point to the fact that our services and ministries live out the challenge of Jesus to proclaim Good News that each person is loved by God.  That is something to rejoice about!



Reflection from Church Documents and Official Statements


http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/images/year-of-faith-logo-montage.jpg


POPE BENEDICT XVI CALLS ON FAITHFUL TO LOOK AT THE EXAMPLE OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
ZE12121006 - 2012-12-10
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-36140?l=english

Addresses Thousands During Sunday Angelus

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 10, 2012 (Zenit.org).- During his weekly Sunday Angelus address, Pope Benedict XVI commented on the figure of St. John the Baptist in announcing the coming of Christ. The Holy Father delivered his address at the window of the Vatican Apostolic Palace to thousands of faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.
Recalled the gospel of the second Sunday of Advent, Pope Benedict said that John the Baptist was not only the last of the prophets by also represented the priesthood of the Old Covenant and "prepares mankind  for the spiritual worship of the New Covenant inaugurated by Jesus."
"John the Baptist is defined as the 'voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths'. The voice proclaims the word, but in this case the Word of God precedes as it comes to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness," the Holy Father said.
The Holy Father reiterated that while John plays an important role, it is always in relation to Christ. "'John is the voice that passes away, Christ is the eternal Word,'" the Pope said quoting St. Augustine.
Our task today is to listen to that voice, to give space to Jesus and to welcome Him, the Word that saves us, into our hearts. In this time of Advent, let us prepare to see, through the eyes of faith, God's salvation in the humble stable in Bethlehem.
Concluding the Angelus, Pope Benedict XVI invited the faithful and the pilgrims gathered to follow the example of St. John the Baptist, who invites us to live in "an essential way."
"In our consumerist society, where we seek joy in material things, the Baptist teaches us to live in an essential way, so that Christmas is not only experienced externally as a superficial holiday, but rather as the feast of the Son of God who came to bring peace, life and true joy to mankind," the Holy Father said.



Some important date(s) this week:
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/ByDate.aspx

See website for biographies of Saints and Blessed celebrated this week.


http://www.missionstclare.com/graphics/persons/H_names/hildegard.jpg
MONDAY DECEMBER 17.  St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)

Hildegard was a most remarkable woman, and one of the greatest figures of the 12th century. This German mystic was a poet and a prophet, a physician and a moralist. She fearlessly rebuked popes and bishops, princes and lay people.

Becoming a nun at 15, Hildegard led an uneventful life for the next 17 years. But more and more she found herself foretelling the future in her conversations. After she became prioress of her community she felt the need to begin writing down the visions and revelations that were coming to her. The archbishop of Mainz examined her writings and declared, “These visions come from God.” Encouraged, she began her greatest work, 26 visions dealing with God and man, creation, redemption and the Church. Full of apocalyptic language, warnings and prophesies, the writing took 10 years to complete. Pope Eugenius III examined the results and cautiously told Hildegard to continue to write whatever the Holy Spirit told her to publish.
With the blessing of the pope, Hildegard, overcoming much opposition, built a larger monastery for her nuns in a place that had been revealed to her in a vision. The new monastery had such things as running water for the 50 women religious who resided there. And Hildegard was able to entertain the community with hymns and canticles for which she wrote both the music and the words. She composed a sacred cantata and wrote 50 allegorical homilies to be used for community reading.
Her more than 300 letters, written to popes and kings, to clergy and abbesses, are full of warnings and prophecies. As was to be expected, she was widely criticized by some, including her own nuns, while others valued her counsel. Despite sickness, she continued to write. One book was on natural history, another on medicine. Some of her ideas on blood circulation and mental illness were far ahead of her time.

On October 7, 2012 Pope Benedict named Hildegard of Bingen a Doctor of the Church, having in early May extended her cult to the universal Church to remove all doubt about her status as a saint. Doctors of the Church are saints whose sanctity and doctrine have benefited the Church to great advantage.




CHARITIES NEWSBYTES

Thinking about Christmas presents?  Consider connecting justice with a gift for your loved one.  Catholic Relief Services, FAIR TRADE Products.  http://www.crsfairtrade.org/

Special Thanks:  
Up A Creek Tavern raised over $5,000.00 on December 8 for the Catholic Charities Regional Agency.  MUCH THANKS!!
 
PAPAL INTENTIONS:   December 2012

General Intention: That migrants throughout the world may be welcomed with generosity and authentic love, especially by Christian communities.

Missionary Intention: Christ, light for all humanity. That Christ may reveal himself to all humanity with the light that shines forth from Bethlehem and is reflected in the face of his Church.



Corporal Works of Mercy:  The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor

  1. Feed the hungry
  2. Give drink to the thirsty
  3. Clothe the naked
  4. Shelter the homeless
  5. Visit the sick
  6. Visit those in prison
  7. Bury the dead



Note: Please consider joining our
FACEBOOK CAUSE http://apps.facebook.com/causes/106889 
FACEBOOK GROUP https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catholic-Charities-Diocese-of-Youngstown/138817639487339
TWITTER account, CCDOY, http://twitter.com/CCDOY
for current updates and calls to action that we can all use. 

See our website at http://www.ccdoy.org for links to the our ministries and services.    
For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog at:  http://corbinchurchthinking.blogspot.com/